A Model Daughter - The Killing of Emma Gilbert
by MrsTobyCavanaugh
Summary: Kinda AU. The girls aren't mermaids. Rikki, Cleo and Bella are devasted by the sudden death of their best friend whom is believed to have committed suicide. But did she? Or was she pushed? It's up to the three girls to find out, or will her death remain a mystery?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
A/N: I go this idea because I have just recently seen A Model Daughter; The Killing Of Caroline Byrne, and all I can say is WOW! It was the saddest movie I have ever seen, like seriously. I couldn't believe it. I seriously can't believe he convinced her to let him kill her, I felt so sorry for her! Especially the scene in her car when she's crying after walking in on Gordon and Renee. And the scene when he's saying 'Why can't you get it through your thick skull? It's my way or no way!' and she was just crying her eyes out, it was so sad:( and when he got arrested I actually cheered. It was amazing. Anyway, enough rambling, I hope you guys enjoy this. And Just to ask a question does anyone know where I can buy A Model Daughter: The Killing of Caroline Byrne? Or download it? Any help will be great thanks!

Rikki Chadwick, furrowed her eyebrows and tried to concentrate on anything but the phone ringing. Even, after a while the ringing continued. She frowned, knowing that whoever was ringing wasn't going to give up anytime soon, she reached her hand out from under the warm covers and picked the telephone off the hook.

"Hello?" She croaked.

Whoever it was on the other end, they sounded frantic. "Rikki! Oh thank god you answered. I need you to come down to the cliffs. You know down by the beach? It's Emma! Her car is here but she's nowhere to be found."

Rikki was now wide awake, "I'll be right there." She reconigsed the voice to belong to Emma's boyfriend, James. Rikki got up out of the bed and got dressed. She then called up Cleo.

"Rikki? Why are you calling at three am?"

"James called and said that there's something wrong with Emma. We need to go to the rocks down by the beach." Rikki explained. "He said her car is there but she isn't and she's nowhere insight."

"Oh no." Cleo gasped. "I'll get Lewis and meet you there." Rikki hung up.

A while later, Cleo and Lewis had already arrived at the cliffs and met up with James before Rikki finally pulled up in her car. She shut off the engine and got out, holding a torch.

"Should we go look then?" Cleo asked.

Lewis nodded. "You and Rikki go that way." He said pointing towards a pathway that led to the edge of the cliffs. "And we'll go look over that way." He pointed towards the woods.

Rikki nodded and her and Cleo ran off down the path. "EMMA!"

"What if we don't find her?" Cleo fretted.

Rikki frowned, and shined the torch in each direction. She shrugged. "I don't know, Cleo. I don't know."

They noticed a couple of fisherman sat by the docks and ran over to them. "Excuse me, but you didn't happen to see a girl go this way did you? She's about 5"6, with long blonde hair." Rikki asked.

"No. We heard a scream a while ago though." One of them answered.

"A scream? What did it sound like?"

"Erm, high-pitched." He said looking at his friend for confirmation, who nodded.

"So it belonged to a girl." Rikki frowned, and exchanged looks with Cleo. "Thanks for your help."

The fisherman smiled and tapped his hat to say 'You're welcome' and the girls walked away.

Lewis and James ran up behind them, "Any luck, girls?" James asked.

They both shook their heads, "Maybe she you know..." James began.

"She what?"

"Jumped." James said.

"Why would she do that?" Cleo asked, her eyes watering.

"She had been to the doctors. She was depressed. We should look by the cliffs." James said, leading the way and Lewis following.

"Depressed?" Rikki whispered to Cleo.

"Hmm." Cleo whispered back, and the girls followed them. They reached the small fence, and leant over. "I can't see anything." Cleo said.

Rikki shone her light over the side, "Me either."

"Give." James said, holding his hand out for the touch. Rikki handed him it and he shone it over the side of the cliffs. "There she is!" He exclaimed.

Rikki, Cleo and Lewis looked over the side. "I can't see anything!" Lewis said. "It's too dark."

Rikki looked rather suspicious at James. How was it possible that he could see but she and the others couldn't?

"We have to go to the police." Lewis said. "C'mon Rikki, Cleo. We'll meet you at the station, James."

James nodded and the trio walked off. "How did you guys get here?" Rikki asked.

"Cab." Cleo answered.

"We'll take my car then." Rikki said, and they got in Rikki's car and headed to the police station. Once there they began filing a report. Rikki left Cleo, Lewis and mainly James to file it while she took a chance in ringing Zane, not that she wanted to wake him up, she just needed somone to talk to. Of course she could ring Bella, but she wasn't even in Australia at the moment. She was in America with her family and wouldn't be back until Friday. It was currently Thursday; early hours.

Zane picked up on the first few rings. "Rikki? It's four am. Whats wrong?"

Rikki sighed, "It's Emma."

"What about her?"

"Are you busy?"

"Rikki, it's four am. Why would I be busy?" Zane asked, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

"Can you come to the police station?"

"I'll be right there." He answered, and hung up. Rikki walked back over to the others.

"Zane's on his way." She said.

Cleo nodded, "I'm just waiting for a call of Emma saying that she's fine."

Rikki rubbed Cleo's arm. "God, I hope we're so wrong about this. But somehow, I know that's just wishful thinking."

The two girls hugged. "I don't want her to be gone." Cleo whispered, crying.

"Me either." Rikki whispered back, also letting herself cry. Zane walked through the doors and over to the group. Cleo noticed him and let go of Rikki pointing behind her. Rikki turned around to find her boyfriend there. He opened his arms and she walked into them, wrapping her arms around him. She'd started to cry, and now she couldn't stop. Zane rocked his girlfriend side to side, playing with her hair.

"What's happened?" Zane dared himself to ask the group.

"Emma's missing. James found her car near The Gap, but there was no sign of her. We looked for her and still couldn't find her. Then we went over by the rocks, and James said he could see her body down below." Lewis explained. Then he turned to James, "What made you look at The Gap anyway?"

"I had a feeling." James answered.

"A feeling? You had a feeling?" Cleo asked bewildered.

James nodded, and Cleo shut her eyes.

~Later~  
Cleo and Rikki decided that they didn't want to leave eachother's side that night, and Rikki drove them to her apartment. Zane took Lewis home in his car, and they promised that they'd call the girls in the morning.

Rikki and Cleo got ready for bed, and then layed in Rikki's king size bed. "Don't you find it suspicious that James seen her down by the rocks but we couldn't see anything?" Cleo asked.

Rikki pressed her lips together. "Uh-huh. He just seemed seriously upset about it, seeing as she was his girlfriend and all."

"He did have a temper though."

Rikki nodded. "He was always the jealous type. But, he wouldn't kill her. Would he?"

Cleo sighed, and rolled on her side, facing away from Rikki and closed her eyes.

Rikki bit her lip. James wouldn't kill his own girlfriend, surely. They were in love, he was devasted he lost her. But then again, we don't know what goes on behind closed doors. Rikki switched off the lamp on her bedside table. She closed her eyes, trying to get to sleep. Although, she and Cleo both knew that neither of them would be getting any sleep that night.

A/N: Ahhhh! There's the first chapter. I love murder stories, I pretend I'm a detective. He, hee. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Bridget xoxo


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
**A/N: Chapter 2! I'm enjoying writing this and I just want to get it written before the idea goes out of my head. That's why the chapter is up so quick. But yeah, enjoy.  
**-  
_ Chapter Two_

After trying for hours to sleep, Rikki decided that she'd just give up. She'd been awake since five, and she couldn't get her mind off Emma. All these 'what if' questions were running through her mind, like 'What if she's out there all alone?' or 'What if she's really at the bottom of that cliff'.

It was now ten, and light enough for the police to be looking at the bottom of the cliff for their friend. She decided it was time for her to get dressed and to head down to the cliffs. She walked into her bedroom to wake up Cleo.

She put her hand on her friends arm and shook her. "Cleo. Wake up." Cleo stirred, and opened her eyes. "It's ten, we should get ready." Rikki said.

Cleo nodded and sat up. Rikki hopped to her closet and picked out a pair of high waisted jeans, a white tank top and a short red cardigan. She then picked an outfit out for Cleo and shot it at her. "Here."

"Thanks." Cleo said, as the shirt it her in the face. Rikki smiled and went into the bathroom to get changed.

~Cliffs~  
Rikki and Cleo had arrived at the cliffs just an hour later to find James already there. A helicopter was flying overhead, and there was police everwhere, while one was shining a massive torch over the cliffside.

"She might not even be down there." Rikki said to James. He didn't listen and carried on looking over the cliffside, grabbing a torch and shining it over.

"There! That's what she was wearing!" James exclaimed, pointing down below. Both the girls ran to the side and looked down. The police shined his huge torch over the edge and could faintly see legs, with white trainers.

Rikki and Cleo could also faintly see her now it was light. Cleo choked back on sob and Rikki hugged her.

After a while someone had gone down and retrieved the body, to find that it was in fact Emma's. James had identified it.

"Oh Emma." Rikki whispered, crying. Her and Cleo were sat on a bench by the top, waiting for Zane and Lewis when James walked over to them.

"Her funeral will be on Saturday. At 3.00." He said, and Cleo looked at him.

"How did you get a funeral that quick?"

"They had a cancellation." James answered quickly then walked away. Zane and Lewis ran up to the instantly noticed how upset they were.

"They found her then?" Lewis asked.

Rikki nodded. "She's really gone." Zane put a comforting arm around his girlfriend, and Lewis did the same to Cleo.

"Right. Cleo, lets go." Rikki said, standing up.

"Go? Go where?" Zane asked.

"The police wanted to talk to us at the station." Rikki replied.

"There's just one thing." Lewis said. "James said last night he could see legs and a body."

"Could you?" Cleo sniffled.

"No! It was pitch black."

"Then how did he..." Rikki trailed off. Rikki watched James in the distance as he hugged some woman. Rubbing his eyes, clearly crying.

~At the station~  
"So Mr Wood, when did you first realise Emma was missing?" A police man taking notes, asked James.

"I came home from work around six. She wasn't at home, even though she'd been at home all day sick in bed and I thought that... that she was feeling better or she'd probably gone round to visit a friend so I, uh, turned on the television and watched the news, and I fell asleep." James said, not once looking at the police man.

"And when did you wake up?"

"After midnight." James answered.

"And what did you do then?"

"I borrowed a friends truck, and I drove around looking for a Suzuki. I ended up at The Gap." James droned on.

"And what made you think of The Gap?" He fired off question after question.

"We used to go there sometimes." He said, his voice getting higher. "I just, I had a feeling."

The policeman carried on writing notes.

~Rikki's apartment~

"When did you realise Emma was missing, James?" Lewis asked. "I tried to call her, but her phone was switched off. Come to think of it, so was yours."

"I got home around six." James said, staring off into the distance.

"Why didn't you call?"

"I was going to. I fell asleep after the news."

"Where did you think she was?" Rikki asked.

"With you and Cleo." James said, looking at her for a second. He walked out onto the balcony and Rikki followed.

"Why didn't you call when you woke up?" She asked.

"I knew something bad had happened. I borrowed a car and I came round here to see if her car was parked outside. It wasn't. So, I went looking for her."

"She was parked underneath the secure carpark. You know that. But you drove straight to The Gap." Rikki exclaimed.

"I just had a feeling." James said, his back still to Rikki.

"If you thought something was wrong why didn't you call me?!" Rikki said, getting angrier.

James whipped around to face her, "Because there was no need! Okay? Everything was fine. Everything was normal." The phone began to ring in the distance as the others stood watching. Lewis answered it.

"But you immediatley assume that she's taken her own life?!" James didn't look at her, he just looked out into the distance.

Suddenly he spun around and got in Rikki's face grabbing her face as he did so and her breathing got heavier, "Just shut up about it!" He growled. Cleo looked on in shock and Zane came up behind them.

"Get your hands off my girlfriend." Zane said. James stared at Rikki for a moment and she gave him a disgusted look. He reculantly let of her. "Don't you _dare _touch her again." James stood there not saying a word, but swallowed deeply.

"Thank you." Lewis said, then put the phone down. "That was the morgue. Do you want to collect her personal items?"

"Yes we do." James said walking away from Rikki and out of the house. She stared after him and shook her head in disbelief. She turned back to look at the view, and walked out onto the balcony. Zane came up behind her and put his arms around her, hugging her from behind.

**A/N: What do you think :D? Let me know, your reviews keep me going! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
A/N: I'm not getting very many reviews for this, which makes me sad :( so tell your friends, tell your friends of friends and tell your friends of friends of friends! Here's chapter three. Also, if anyone can make trailers, please message me! I really need someone to make a trailer for this story. I'm aware of the dates not happening yet, but pretend they have for the sake of this story because her death was 7th June, hehe.

Bella grinned widely as she knocked on her best friends' door. A tired looking Rikki answered the door with a rather angry,

"WHAT?!" Rikki looked at the person knocking on the door and noticed it was her best friend. "Oh, Bella, it's you."

Bella looked confused but smiled, "Yeah, it's me. Back from my holiday!"

Rikki nodded, "You coming in?" She asked as she turned around and walked back into her apartment. Bella walked in after her.

"So what's up?" Bella asked, sitting on the couch opposite Rikki.

Rikki looked dumbfounded. "Didn't you watch the news while you were away?"

Bella shook her head. "Should I have?"

"Emma's gone." Rikki sighed, looking down.

"What do you mean gone?" Bella whispered.

"I think you know."

Bella frowned, looking at her friend. "What happened?"

"Her body was found at the bottom of The Gap." Rikki answered. "They believe she commited suicide. Her funeral is tomorrow."

"Emma never seemed suicidal." Bella said.

Rikki shrugged. "She'd been to the doctor apparently. She was diagnosed with depression and referred to a physcatrist last Monday. Or so James said."

"Oh." Bella whispered. "I'm sorry."

"You're coming to her funeral, right?" Rikki asked, and Bella nodded.

"Course I will."

~The Funeral~  
Rikki, Cleo and Bella arrived at the church where Emma's funeral was being held. They met up with Zane, Lewis and Will at the entrance.

Cleo blew out a breath, "Shall we go in?" She asked.

Rikki nodded and Zane grabbed her hand, leading her inside. Cleo and Lewis followed closely behind, then Bella and Will. As they walked in they were instantly met with Emma's parents.

"Rikki, Cleo, Zane, Lewis." Lisa smiled, hugging them. "I'm so glad you could make it." She then turned to Bella and Will. "Bella. Will. I know you hadn't known Emma very long, but it would have made her day you two being here. Thank you for coming."

"It's our pleasure, Mrs Gilbert." Bella smiled, hugging the older woman.

"Would you guys please sit at the front? I know it's what Emma would have wanted." Neil said.

"Course we will." Cleo smiled and the group headed down to the front. The three girls stared at Emma's picture for a moment, it finally kicking in that she was never coming back. Rikki pressed her lips together, trying to hold herself together. Cleo just let the tears pour out while Bella bit her lip. Rikki's eyes wandered over to the opposite side, where she saw Emma's parents sit down next to James. He was crying, and rubbing his eyes.

Zane got in first, then Rikki, then Lewis, then Cleo, then Will and finally Bella. The funeral was heartbreaking, and by the end the girls were sobbing uncontrollably, and even the boys were crying slightly. She had the song 'Suggestions by Orelia' playing softly in the background throughout the whole semenar.

~Back at Rikki's~  
Rikki arrived back at her apartment to find a strange package sat outside her door. It was small, rectangle shape in brown packaging. It had a bright red bow wrapped around it and a small card hanging from the top. She rose her eyebrow and bent down to pick it up, and once it was in her hands she turned the card over and read it.

_Dear Rikki,_

Curious about your friend? You should watch this.

Anonymous

Rikki gasped slightly and went into the apartment. She ripped open the package and found a DVD inside. It was labelled 'Emma and James'. She didn't want to watch it on her own in fear of what she might find, so she immediatly called Cleo.

"Cleo?"

"Rikki? What's up?"

"How soon can you come over?"

"As soon as you want. Why?"

"I'll tell you when you get here. Hurry." Rikki said, biting her lip and hanging up the phone.

It was another ten minutes before Cleo finally arrived with Bella.

"Finally!" Rikki exclaimed.

"I made a stop along the way to get Bella." Cleo replied. "What's up?"

"When I got home this was waiting outside the door with a card." Rikki said, handing Cleo the DVD.

"What did the card say?" Bella asked.

"Here." Rikki replied, showing Bella the card. "Should we watch it?"

"Certainly. It could be important." Cleo said.

Rikki blew out a breath and took the DVD off Cleo. She opened it and pulled out the DVD, putting it into the DVD slot. The trio sat on the couch, facing the TV, Rikki in the middle. The DVD began to play.

"How do you think Emma would feel if someone had been recording her without her knowing?" Rikki frowned.

_'Saturday 17th May, 2013'  
The movie shows Emma at James at the gym. There's not many people around, and they are quite far into the corner. "Are you crazy James? You can't make a business deal with him!" Emma said angrily._

"I'll do what I want!" James replied, even angrier than Emma.

"He'll bleed us dry!" She whispered.

"Just shut up, Emma! I know who he is and I know what I'm doing. Just shut up." He whispered, angrily which was much scarier than if he had yelled, because he grabbed her face (much like he had to Rikki, only days earlier). Emma's eyes began watering, and she avoided looking him in the eyes. "Do you hear me?" She didn't answer, so he grabbed her face harder and brought it further towards him. "I said, do you hear me?!"

She nodded quickly, "Yes." She squeaked. He let go of her and she ran out of the gym, many eyes watching her, and many watching him. He shook his head in disgust and the screen went black.

Cleo's eyes had begun to water. Rikki had went to turn it off when Bella stopped her.

"Wait. There's more." She said and sure enough, the DVD began to play again.

_The movie shows Emma stood outside of a restraunt, just answering her phone. They could faintly here what the other person was saying._

"Where are you, Emma?" The other person, James they guessed, said.

"I'm just out to dinner with a friend. I'll be late home."

"Just a friend? Or another boyfriend?" James sneered.

"It's just an old friend."

"You get home right now, Emma. I mean it!" James yelled.

"I'm having dinner." She said, calmly.

"You're pathetic. Get home, right now!"

Emma sighed, and hung up the phone, she stared into space for a few moments before returning her phone back to her bag and walking back inside, a few tears evident in her once again, the screen went black.

The girls sat in silence for a few moments. "Poor Em. How could we not see what was going on?" Rikki frowned.

"I guess she hid it well." Bella sighed. "No one knows what goes on behind closed doors."

"But we're her best friends, I bet there's more DVD's of what happened leading up to the events of that night. And together, we need to find them. We at least owe it to her to find out exactly what happened that night." Rikki said. Cleo and Bella instantly agreed with her, and there was a sudden knock on the door.

Rikki looked at the girls before getting up and answering it. She gasped when she saw who or what was stood before her.

A/N: Cheesy line from Rikki there, but it was cute, right? hehe. What did you think? Review review review! :D


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
**A/N: New chapter yay! I think I'm going to base this slightly on Pretty Little Liars too. This chapter seems to be based on that, but if you don't like it, I'll kind of find my way out of it somehow. But, let me know. It's kind of like a tester chapter to see if this would work and if you guys would like it. But if not, I'll stop. Review.**

Rikki's hand slid off the door handle, and she placed both hands over her mouth. Bella and Cleo ran to her sides and looked at what was in front of them. There in front of them was a large box that had 'Ding Dong The Bitch Is Dead' written on the front of it in red lipstick.

"What the hell is that?!" Rikki exclaimed.

"Maybe she had a stalker?" Cleo frowned. "Should we bring it in?"

"What? Are you asking if we should bring something into my home that actually says the words 'Ding Dong The Bitch Is Dead'? Have you lost your mind?" Rikki asked, bewildered.

"We need to know what's inside it, Rikki. We'll bring it in, then we'll call Lewis, Zane and Will and they can come and check it out for us." Bella said.

Finally, Rikki gave in. All three girls pulled the box inside, except for the exception of Cleo who went around the other side to push it. About an hour later, they were all stood around the box debating whether to open it or not.

"We have to open it." Lewis clarified.

"You do it then, I don't know what's going to be inside." Cleo said, falling back on the couch.

Zane groaned. "I'll do it." He grabbed a screwdriver from the side and unscrewed the lid. It came off easily. Rikki took her chance, and stepped on her tip toes to have a closer look.

"What the hell is all this?" She asked, sticking her hand into the box and pulling it out. A few slips of paper, and photographs came out in her hand. She picked out a slip of paper that said, 'I'm watching you'. "I'm watching you?" Rikki cried. "What is this?"

She picked out a photo of herself, Cleo, Bella and Emma. She held her breath and read the writing which again, was in red lipstick, 'Dead Girls Walking'. "Hey guys, look at this."

Cleo walked over and grabbed the photograph. "Dead girls walking? What does that mean?"

"I'm taking a wild guess here, but I'm guessing it means that someone wants to kill us and Emma was first on their list, which can only mean one of us is next." Rikki bit her lip and sat down on the couch.

Bella shook her head, "No, that can't be right."

"Look at the facts, Bella. Here's another," She handed Cleo a slip of paper.

"Nice try. You're looking for me in all the wrong places." Cleo read aloud. "Was Emma being stalked?"

"This is ridiculous. Who would send you these?" Lewis frowned.

"And why would they want us to know?" Bella asked.

"Hey, look at this one." Will said, pulling a doll out of the box. A slip of paper was attached to the back with a pin holding it in place. "It says, Dead girls can't smile."

"Poor Em." Rikki sighed.

"What if it happens to us?" Bella asked, whispering.

Will sat beside her and slipped his arm around her shoulders. "You guys stick together, and nothing can hurt you."

"Yeah, but what if us trying to find out what happened that night causes this person to start on us?" Bella bit her lip.

"We have to find out what happened, Bella." Rikki said.

Bella sighed, giving up. Rikki's phone bleeped, and she pulled it out of her pocket and read it.

_Quit while you're ahead, bitch._

Rikki's eyes went wide and she dropped her phone to the floor in shock.

"Rikki? What's wrong? Who was that?" Zane asked, concerned. Cleo bent down and picked up Rikki's phone, and read the message.

"Oh my gosh." She whispered, and Zane grabbed the phone. He quickly scanned the message then instantly put his arms around Rikki, whispering soothing words.

It was Cleo's and Bella's phones who bleeped next, and at the same time. Everyone held their breaths as the girls read their texts.

Cleo bit her lip, as tears entered her eyes, "The weakest link is the easiest to break."

Bella averted her eyes, looking at everyone in the room before speaking, "Life is but a dream, Bella. And I'm your nightmare."

**A/N; What do you think? Sorry it's short, but I'm on a different laptop and had to come off it soon so I wrote this as quick as possible. Review.**


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